#i know what kirk was trying to do in tff but also how dare you forgetting sam lol

[lenievi]

I've been thinking (lol) [this isn't a meta or whatever, it's just me having fun because Kirk and La'an are gonna live rent free in my head for a very long time]

I really like the idea that La'an's time travel adventure happened in "Pike sent the letters" timeline too, but the thought that La'an and Kirk met and connected in that timeline without any interference is actually quite compelling as well. Especially since Kirk never visited the Enterprise before the happenings in the finale. But their paths still crossed and they connected.

Why I'm thinking about it is this:

Those events were never supposed to happen and you were never meant to be aware of them. Neither was your companion. (from Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow)

What if the current timeline is the only timeline where La'an had to protect the past. It didn't happen originally in the timeline Pike created, because Pike changed the future.

And since I'm also of the opinion that the TOS timeline is slightly different from the timeline we're watching now, especially because of Khan and: "And all this was supposed to happen back in 1992, and I've been trapped here for 30 years trying to get my shot at him." it didn't happen in that timeline either. (Well, I also think that La'an didn't exist in the original TOS timeline, she can only exist now, hence La'an Noonien-Singh VS Khan Noonien Singh - i.e. no dash, but that's just my HC, and if it ends up not being true, it doesn't really matter to me, I just think it works neatly atm)

There was no reason for the time agent to also bring up Kirk. That version of him ceased to exist and therefore there was no version of him to still be aware of any events that happened. His life and memories were erased.

However, I assume because Kirk also used the time travelling device, he maintained some of the feelings (I've had that thought before, but ep 9 confirmed it~), and the time-travelling adventure might have some influence on his path that would not happen otherwise. La'an's call could have changed something for him. And that influence could be positive or negative, and it's honestly fun to think about.

obviously when it comes to the main timeline and "Pike sent the letters" timeline, the difference is also Una's presence and lack of her presence, which means that ofc Kirk wouldn't come to the Enterprise to shadow her, but he apparently never visited Sam in that timeline. Him feeling a connection towards La'an in the main timeline thanks to the time-travel, could also suggest that he subconsciously feels the need to visit Sam because in that other timeline, Sam was dead. And Jim died, so Sam could live. And the first time Kirk visited the Enterprise in the main timeline, was to visit and spend time with Sam.